Jupiter (Potential SEB Revival)

On November 9, 2010, the amateur astronomer Christopher Go has observed a bright,
white spot in the southern hemisphere, which rapidly erupted and is now considered as the beginning of the SEB revival. The bright spot can be seen near the center of the
southern region of the planet.

31.10.2010 / 20:16-20:18 CET

Halloween Jupiter!

SEB still invisible, note the GRS on the planets limb. This image was recorded under very poor seeing conditions.

Small Mars

My first image of Mars since a long time. The planets apparent size is only 12", so it is still a tough imaging object. On this night there was strong wind and poor seeing, so I hope I can acquire some better images soon.

International Space Station (ISS)

I was up late this night to image the ISS...

Celestron 11 XLT at f/10 and Canon EOS 450D SLR camera.

09.04.2009 / 23:20 CEST

Saturn's Moons

Seeing was excellent this evening although the conditions were a little bit unfavorable due to the full Moon. With Saturn, I have
also imaged four of its moons, can you find all of them in the picture?

The Colors of the Moon / First Light!

To the human eye, the moon appears almost without color. But if you look more closely, there are differences. In this image, I
have carefully enhanced the color information. Now different hues are visible which reveal interesting information about the
composition of the material on the moons surface. This picture is a first light image with my new TMB-LOMO 80/600 refractor, great result!

The Great Orion Nebula M42

I was just testing my new Canon EOS 450D SLR camera. The camera is unmodified, so there is a strong IR block filter in place, making M42 rather inappropriate for this test - but the result is quite good. I noticed that the sensor has a very low noise.

Takahashi FS102N at f/8 + Canon EOS 450D. Exposure: 5 x 120s.

29.12.2008 / 22:29 CET

The ASTRA Satellite Cluster

The ASTRA
Satellites provide Europe with TV, Radio and Internet
services. The satellites are positioned in an geostationary orbit
(36000 km), so they appear always at the same position in the sky.
To capture these faint objects, just point your telescope to the
right position and turn off the tracking, the stars will move
through the field of view and only the satellites will keep
position!

Edit: This picture was published in the German magazine
Sterne und
Weltraum. (Edition 03/2009 on page 102).

29.12.2008 / 21:57-22:51 CET

Motion of the Astra Satellite Cluster

The image on the left is a combination of multiple pictures taken in a time span of one hour. It clearly shows that even the geostationary Astra satellites are moving slightly. This is caused by small adjustment maneuvers of the satellites.

International Space Station - ATV Undocked

The ATV undocked on September 5, and performed a destructive re-entry into the atmosphere on September 29. On the image one can see that the ATV is missing and at the aft port of Zvezda now docks a Progress (Progress 30).

Celestron 11 XLT in secondary focus + Canon EOS 400D.

28.07.2008 / 22:44 CEST

International Space Station

On that evening there was a good transparency of the sky,
however the seeing conditions were unfavorable (wobbling stars and
low wind on the ground). As a result, there is less detail
resolved compared to the previous attempt, but some interesting
detail is still visible: The JEM module now lies in the sunlight
and the solar panels are in better position. Distance to the ISS was approx. 400km.

Celestron 11 XLT in secondary focus + Canon EOS 400D.

23.07.2008 / 23:45 CEST

International Space Station with ATV, Columbus and JEM-Module

One of my best ISS-pictures so far. Newly arrived ATV, Columbus and JEM modules are clearly visible.

Celestron 11 XLT in secondary focus + Canon EOS 400D.

Edit: This picture was published in the German magazine Sterne und Weltraum. (Edition 12/2008 on page 102).

05.04.2008 / 07:55-09:29 UT

Globular Cluster Messier 3 (M3)

This image was remotely acquired, using a Takahashi TOA 150 at f
7.0 and a SBIG ST10XME camera of GRAS, New Mexico. L=5x300s (1x1);
R,G,B=4x300s (1x1) - total exposure time = 85 min.

Saturn Approaching Opposition

Saturn will be at opposition on Feb. 24 and is now visible the whole night - a good opportunity to practice different imaging techniques...

Edit: Currently there is a discussion about a possible new storm system that recently developed in the southern
hemisphere of Saturn. Click here for a contrast enhanced image that might show the storm...

08.02.2008 / 23:30 CET

Saturn and Second Light

This is my second attempt with the new C11 XLT!

The image is a R-RGB. I was suffering some bad local seeing, but nevertheless the result is promising.

12.01.2008

Barred Spiral Galaxy NGC 1365

This is just a preliminary result (Luminance layer) of Galaxy NGC 1365 in the constellation Fornax. I hope the color frames will follow soon.